Dog owners' alert after pet savaging

Cockapoo Sadie, who was attacked by another dog

James Seddon and Rachel Bennett’s cockapoo Sadie had her face torn open when she was attacked by another dog while they were walking her to the vet’s.

Sadie suffered a large flesh wound to her muzzle in the incident on Poplar Street, Leigh, at around 7.10pm on Tuesday and had to return to the Vet Care surgery the following morning for an X-ray.

She was attacked by a terrier-type dog on an extendable lead and both Rachel and James were horrified to see the other dog’s lady owner leave the scene without checking how Sadie was.

James, 29, said: “As we approached we didn’t have any reason to think it was going to be aggressive, but it really went for Sadie and latched onto her face. I went to separate them and the lady and a young girl who was with her noticed what was happening. The other dog let go but then I noticed how bad Sadie was and we just rushed her to the vet.

“This could be the first time the other dog has snapped out, we don’t want to make any presumptions. However, the owner needs to keep it under much stronger control, muzzle it in public and not use an extendable lead because they can fail.”

The inside happened near the entrance to a narrow alley connecting Poplar Street to Newlands Road. Sadie was attacked by an animal that seemed to be a cross-breed terrier and was largely white with some ginger markings.

She was given painkillers and antibiotics and made to wear a cone-shaped collar to stop her licking the affected area. She is now back at home but still shaken by her ordeal.

James said the woman was possibly around 60 years old, of average height and medium build, with fairly short hair. He says they would like to speak to her about the incident and hopes she will apologise for what happened.

He said: “She said sorry but didn’t come into the vet’s while we were there. When we got out again she had obviously gone. It’s about the owner admitting that her dog did this to Sadie and then taking whatever steps are necessary to stop this recurring.”

James and Rachel also reported the incident to Leigh police and were told to get back in touch with any extra information. Anyone with details can contact the newsroom on 01942 506261.